4 Little Yoga Secrets To Be A Success Magnet

Two guys were walking through the jungle. All of a sudden, a tiger appeared from a distance, running toward them. One of the guys took out a costly pair of shoes from his bag and started to put them on. The other guy, with a surprised look on his face, exclaimed, "Do you think you will run faster than the tiger with those?"
His friend replied, "I don't have to outrun it, I just have to run faster than you."

It’s one of the most pervasive jokes about success. I googled “success joke” and found it everywhere over Internet. And this is precisely the idea of success for most people these days, albeit a very mediocre one. True success comes with excellence where you do not outperform someone else, but use your own full potential. When you want to outperform others, you don’t explore tremendous possibilities lying dormant inside. Success, at the end of the day, isn’t about others - what others achieve and what they don’t. It is about you. It’s about discovering the powers within and activating these powers. If you can do it, you can succeed in whatever you do.

The Secret Ingredient Of Success

This heading - The Secret Ingredient Of Success - is inspired by Kung Fu Panda. Those of you who have watched it, would be able to relate. Here, I’ve used it to activate your taste-buds too, because I’m feeling quite hungry while writing this article (Why should only I suffer?).

Well, Yoga is the science to unlock these inner resources that you have and putting them in use. In Gita, Krishna says, “योग: कर्मसु कौशलम्”; i.e. Yoga is the excellence at work. Whatever you do, Yoga transforms quality of your actions and lead you toward excellence and success. But, how can it be achieved? How to bring highest excellence in your actions?

Patanjali, author of Yoga Sutra, provides answer for it. He, in his Yoga aphorisms, says, “योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः”; i.e. Yoga is restraining the mind from wavering or taking various forms. So, if when used both of these Sutras together, we find the crystal-clear answer for our question:

∵ Yoga = Excellence at work
∵ Yoga = Restraining the mind from wavering
∴ Excellence at work = Restraining the mind from wavering

Therefore, while performing any action, if you are able to restrain your mind from wavering and can focus completely on action taking place in that moment, quality of your action transforms. In East, this complete awareness toward the actions taking place moment-to-moment is called “Ekagrata” or one-pointedness. At times, it is loosely translated as “concentration” in English.

Swami Vivekananda’s Formula For Success

I’ve been a fan of Swami Vivekananda since my childhood. Other than his amazing talks, tales of his unbelievable feats always made me awestruck. Here’s one that tells about his success formula:

Once, in America, Swami Vivekananda was watching some boys. They were standing on a bridge trying to shoot at egg-shells that were floating on the river. The egg-shells bobbed up and down. The boys could not hit any of them. They fired the gun many times, but always missed the target! They noticed that Swami Vivekananda was watching them. So, they called out to him: “Well, you are watching us. Do you think you can do better?”
Swami Vivekananda smiled and said: “I will try.”
Then the boys said: “It’s not so easy as you think!”
Swami Vivekananda took the gun and aimed at the egg-shells. He stood very still for a few minutes. Then, he fired the gun. He fired twelve times, and every time he hit an egg-shell! The boys were very surprised. How could any man shoot egg-shells like that? They thought. They said to Swami Vivekananda: “Well, Mister, how did you do it? You must be a practised hand.”
Swami Vivekananda laughed and assured them he had never handled a gun before.
“Whatever you are doing,” he explained, “the secret of success lies in the power of concentration. Put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your mind should be only on the target. Then, you will never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson. In my country, boys are taught to do this.”

India, the land of Yoga, has long tradition of such practices that sharpen the mind and make it focused. Though, modern education system completely neglects this aspect of education that, according to me, is essential for learning any new skill and performing to the best of our abilities. Swami Vivekananda says:

The main difference between men and the animals is the difference in their power of concentration. All success in any line of work is the result of this. Everybody knows something about concentration. We see its results every day. High achievements in art, music, etc., are the results of concentration.

4 Yoga Techniques To Kick-start Success Roller Coaster

Whatever you want to succeed at - business, sports, studies, scientific endeavours or any other pursuit of life - this is the secret of Yoga. Sachin Tendulkar and Tiger Woods know how to ‘get in the zone’ by paying 100% attention. Steve Jobs knew how to unleash his creative genius by concentrating all his energies. These 4 simple techniques will help you concentrate and stay in the moment to transform you in a success dynamo:

1. Nadi Shodhana

Nadi Shodhana or alternate nostril breathing purifies the nerves in your subtle body or Sukshma Sharira. These nerves are pathways or channels of Prana, the basic unit of energy. You should understand this – performing Yoga generates a lot of energy, but if these nerve pathways are blocked, this energy cannot reach at the right spots and, therefore, no benefit can be reaped. So, in order to unblock these energy channels, this technique of Nadi Shodhana is not only important, but necessary too. If you practice Nadi Shodhana twice a day for about 15 minutes, your nerve pathways will be unblocked in 3-4 months and then, you will be able to reap the immense benefits that Yoga has to offer. Your senses will become sharper and you will be healthier, and harshness of your voice will be reduced. Once it happens, you can ascertain that nerves in your subtle body are opening up. This is an open secret and if you do not know this secret, you cannot become a Yogi.

2. Bhramari

The nature of mind is to wander incessantly. Bhramari Pranayama is a very effective method to relax your mind and let it be focused internally on its own. In this technique, a sound like a Bhramar (the carpenter bee) is produced that brings relaxed focus. Place your index fingers on your ears. There is a cartilage between your cheek and ear. Place your index fingers on the cartilage. Breath in deeply and make a humming sound like a bee while exhaling along with gently pressing the cartilage. This simple technique does wonders and one finds that his actions are becoming better as mind gets more and more relaxed. It will be great if you can do it 11 times twice a day. However, it also depends on your convenience.

3. Rhythmic Breathing

Have you ever paid attention to your breathing? Observe it deeply. Breathing takes place because of the motion of our lungs. There is a rhythm in natural breathing. But, we have lost it and our breathing is irregular now. Interestingly, breathing is only phenomenon in our organism that is both conscious and unconscious, i.e. we can control the flow of our breath if we want to, or it takes place automatically. So, by making our breathing rhythmical, we can slowly bring in the harmony in our entire organism that makes us healthy and youthful. Also, it makes our mind one-pointed and invigorated. With a one-pointed attention, mind will not be able to waver incessantly and whatever you do will be transformed into excellence. Remember, breathing is a very delicate process. We must not use any force to regulate our breathing. Exertion of force can harm your inner organs irreparably. Though it will be perfect if you can do it throughout the day while doing your regular stuff, but giving 10 minutes twice a day for bringing your breath into rhythm can really do wonders for you.

4. Meditation

As per Yoga, meditation is complete attention without any flickering. Meditation, if practiced properly, prolongs attention span and transforms the quality of perception. It sharpens your intellect and balances your emotions, which are very important traits for effective communication. There are several different methods of meditation, but their core is same. Be a witness to any object, inner or outer, in your consciousness. This object can be anything – a Mantra or Chakra or stream of thoughts. Just observe it by paying your full attention and do not force your mind at all. After some practice, you will be surprised to see that chattering in your mind is getting lesser and lesser. Your expressions are getting impactful, your words full of energy and your understanding in-depth. Meditation changes your entire consciousness. To start with meditation, you may perform it 10 minutes twice a day. Further, you may increase the timings as per your convenience.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – says Lao Tzu. Seeking success, at the end of the day, is a very small goal. There are many grand things that Yoga can lead you toward. However, even taking the first step will set your direction. Immerse in the ocean of Yoga to find peace, happiness, to ultimately find what can be found, to find yourself. It’s the first step, also the ultimate – Do it! Do it! Do it! – Arise, awake and stop not, till the goal is reached.

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